2016 WSOP Day 31: Gold for Umerova, Klein Threatening a Double

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Jul 02, 2016 5 min read

The 31st day of the 2016 World Series of Poker saw a WSOP rookie grab gold, the PLO Championship get close to crowning a winner, and Day 2 of the new Omaha 8 mix play out.

Plus, the first two of four starting flights for the 888poker sponsored $888 Crazy Eights 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em kicked off.

All summer long, PokerNews.com will be bringing you daily coverage of the 2016 WSOP, brought to you by our sponsors, 888poker.

Another for Klein? Six Remain in PLO Championship

Loren Klein already showed off his pot-limit Omaha prowess at least in part once this summer, taking down Event #45: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha for $241,427. Now, he's looking to take down the $10,000 PLO Championship, as he still remains in contention with only six players left heading to an unscheduled Day 4.

Brandon Shack-Harris is chip leader and will make for a formidable roadblock for Klein. Shack-Harris' lone bracelet win came in a $1,000 PLO event back in 2014, the year he finished runner-up to George Danzer in Player of the Year standings.

Onetime PokerNews reporter Harley Stoffmaker also advanced to the final six. He found two late doubles, both times with aces, after grinding a short stack for much of Day 3.

Here are the remaining players with their chip counts:

Day 3 began with 28 players in contention and the plan of playing down to a winner. Players well into the money in a tournament with 400 runners, and some of the players busting out on Day 3 included James Obst (10th), Yuri Martins (11th), Max Silver (12th), and 2016 bracelet winner Peter Eichhardt (19th).

Level 28 (50,000/100,000) will be the parameter when play resumes on Saturday at noon.

Rookie Pro Wins The $1,500 Shootout

28-year-old professional poker player and relative newcomer to the game Samiya Umerova earned $264,046 and her first WSOP bracelet winning the 2016 WSOP $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold��em Shootout on Friday night.

��I��ve only been playing poker for a very short time," the Los Angeles resident and Russian native said. "It��s exciting. This is a great start for my career.��

The 2016 WSOP is Umerova's first, and she booked one cash already this year, finishing 189th in the $1,500 bounty for $1,748 earlier this week. Leading up the the WSOP she ran deep in a number of side events at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown and LA Poker Classic this year, booking at least one big score and a win.

Umerova ultimately beat a field of 1,050 entries to capture the title, including beating recent EPT Malta champ Niall Farrell heads up. Three-time WSOP bracelet winner Vanessa Selbst bubbled the final table.

More from Umerova can be found in an article posted here.

$1,500 Shootout Final Table Results

Jay Farber Bags a Pile in Event #52

Since finishing second in the WSOP Main Event back in 2013 to Ryan Riess, results have been few and far between for Jay Farber. He's booked just two cashes since that $5 million score, but another is already locked in as he's one of just 31 left in Event #52: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

It could be a big one, as there's $569,158 up top in the event, and Farber sits in second with 1,077,000 after Day 2, behind only Tony Ruberto's 1,165,000. Nick Yunis (1,056,000), Thomas Miller (970,000), and Linglin Zeng (858,000) also finished in the top five.

Farber's fellow former November Niners James Akenhead and Pierre Neuville also remain, as do Chris Johnson, Andrew Lichtenberger, Tristan Wade, John Hennigan, Simon Deadman, and John Racener.

The tournament paid to 169 spots and the money was reached with David Peters, Justin Bonomo, Matt Waxman, 888poker Ambassador Sofia Lovgren, Greg Merson, Joe Cada, Stephen Chidwick, Ismael Bojang, and former PokerNews Managing Editor Chad Holloway among the players cashing.

The tournament is schedule to play to a winner Saturday starting at noon, with blinds beginning back at 6,000/12,000/2,000, but it may not prove to be possible with a sizable field returning.

A Happy Stack for Angry John in Mixed Omaha

A brand new event for 2016 at the WSOP is Event #53: $1,500 Mixed Omaha, which features three variants of Omaha poker including Big O for the first time at the series.

Two days in, 27 players remain, with Allan Le at the top with 562,500, followed closely by ��Angry�� John Monnette, who bagged 531,000. Cody Crouch (435,500), Yuval Bronshtein (348,000), and Gary Bolden (323,500) round out the top five.

Monnette has been one of the most successful players at the WSOP in recent years, with two bracelets and nearly $1.8 million in cashes. He's well-known for his prowess in limit variants but he's made a few runs in pot-limit Omaha hi-low tournaments as well.

With 101 places paid, about half of the 207 Day 2 runners would cash. Justin Gardenhire, Mike Leah, Nick Kost, Ofer Zvi Stern, Frankie O'Dell, Ted Forrest, and Eli Elezra were among those fattening their wallets with payouts.

Day 3 gets underway at 2 p.m. Saturday, and a winner is scheduled to be crowned, but a Day 4 is certainly a possibility.

Crazy Eights Draws Thousands

The first two of four starting flights for the 2016 WSOP Event #54: $888 Crazy Eights 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em went down at the Rio on Friday.

The 10:00 am flight drew 1,291, playing past a 195-player money bubble and down to just 36 remaining.

Notables who cashed but failed to advance included Cate Hall, Dietrich Fast, and Pratyush Buddiga. Daniel Fried grabbed the end-of-flight chip lead with 366,000. Recognizable names that bagged big included Jennifer Shahade, Loni Harwood, Allen Kessler and Jason Les.

The second flight drew 1,525 entries, playing past a 230-player money bubble with 51 players bagging up chips.

Ray Henson, Eddy Sabat, Ryan D'Angelo, and Jamie Kerstetter were among those that made the money but did not survive the day. Sebastian Pauli, Scott Davies and Bart Lybaert were among the notables to bag contending stacks.

Western New York's Andy Spears grabbed the overnight and overall lead, putting almost 500,000 in the bag.

The 87 players who survived the first two flights will return for Day 2 at 2:00 p.m. local time on Sunday and will be joined by any and all survivors from the final two starting flights on Friday.

What's On Tap?

In addition to all the other action above, the 2016 WSOP Event #54: $888 Crazy Eights 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em will continue with final two of four starting flights scheduled for 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time. This unique 888poker sponsored event allows players eliminated in one flight to enter any other, and includes an $888,888 guaranteed first-place prize.

Plus, one of the most anticipated events of the summer, the 2016 WSOP Event #55: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, begins at 3 p.m. local time.

As the 2016 WSOP rolls on, be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage, brought to you by our sponsors, 888poker.

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